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Heck, I'm 19, and I scribbled some blue sharpie on my cat last night. The pest wouldn't stop climbing all over my stuff while I was trying to study and trying to grab my sharpie while I was using it. So she got her paw scribbled on. She miraculously survived, and obviously wasn't too traumatized considering she then sprawled across my text book purring.

Good Lord... apparently the daily goings on in the Minon household should have all my animals yanked and sent away to much happier homes. Either that or DD will clearly turn into the female version of Ted Bundy.

My little brother and I bingo dabbed our border collie as kids (she was red and white) We made her red and green. She lived another 12 years after, I don't think it had any lasting effects!
We had a Christmas dog until spring when she shed out!

Huh? Little kids color on whatever is available. My daughter colored her arms with purple markers on picture day. She still remembers that I scrubbed it off with Ajax. The door that was colored...that was her job to scrub off. It took hours.

When I was about 4 I was playing with our Irish Setter in the other room and came in crying and saying that Paddy bitten me. My mother, knowing the dog and knowing me asked "What were you doing?"

My response was "All I was doing was putting my fingers down her throat!".

My 13 year old JRT is having a very hard time escaping my 1 year old son. She does what she can to endure his "petting" (read: slapping) and when she's done she leaves. Only now he follows her. Poor dog who isn't allowed on the furniture has taken to jumping up on the couch and hiding at the back. I can't get mad at her. There is a reason her bed, food, water and sanctuary are placed behind a baby gate.

Not all animals are made to put up with children, but the ones who are have high seats in heaven, for sure.

The coloring probably didn't hurt the dog. Obviously I would wash the Sharpie ink out after this incident, but I doubt it hurt the puppy. I do think that it is always very important to supervise kids and dogs because kids can inadvertently hurt dogs - and to prevent kids from sitting on or "riding" dogs, which I've heard can cause serious injuries.

If it really was sharpie it won't wash out. It will go away when the hair eventually sheds out but sharpie is permanent. If it was magic marker that will wash.

When I was about 4 I was playing with our Irish Setter in the other room and came in crying and saying that Paddy bitten me. My mother, knowing the dog and knowing me asked "What were you doing?"

My response was "All I was doing was putting my fingers down her throat!".

My 13 year old JRT is having a very hard time escaping my 1 year old son. She does what she can to endure his "petting" (read: slapping) and when she's done she leaves. Only now he follows her. Poor dog who isn't allowed on the furniture has taken to jumping up on the couch and hiding at the back. I can't get mad at her. There is a reason her bed, food, water and sanctuary are placed behind a baby gate.

Not all animals are made to put up with children, but the ones who are have high seats in heaven, for sure.

I hope when you see your kid bothering the old dog, you remove kid or dog. As the owner, you owe it to both to keep them safe. And kids CAN learn to pat gently.

*This may have come out more harsh than intended, but I hate to think a good natured old dog, that is most likely getting stiffer with age is being slapped and forced to put up with a kid being rough. Too often you hear about a dog biting a kid, and the parent says "She's never done that before!" and then they want to get rid of, or euth the dog.